Meat-skinning machine



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IN VENTORSI WALTHER STEI'TLER AND c AfiyEs HummEL.

Patented July 14, 1953 2,645,263 MEAT-SKINNING MACHINE walther Stettler, Reinach, Switzerland, and Charles Hummel, Hesingue, France Application February 13, 1952, Serial No. 271,383

In. Switzerland February 19, 1951 10 Claims. (Cl. 146 130) The present invention relates to a meat-skinning machine, which is characterised in that it comprises a feed shaft rotatably and drivably mounted in a frame, and a blade displaceably guided in the frame and having a cutting edge extending'along the feed shaft, the feed shaft having on its surface projections adapted to carry along the skin and having'iformed therein a helical groove in which a helical spring is mounted with such radial clearance that, when pressed fully into the groove in the region of a cutter under the radial bearing pressure of the skin, it projects beyond projections to enable them to engage the skin, and, conversely, it projects beyond the projections in the region further from ,the bladeto an extent suflicient to detach the skin from the said projections. Thus, by means of the arrangement and dimensioning of the spiral spring, the projections can in general be made to project only at the points at which this is necessary to enable them to engage the skin so that a forward feed of the skin and of the meat to be skinned in the necessary work.- ing region is ensured. As soon as the skin leaves thisregion, it is correspondingly radially shifted by the spiral spring leaving the groove, so that it is automatically detached from the projections without any special stripping means being required; However, in addition to these functions serving to provide a direct operating process, the

spiral spring also affords a very desirable protection of the fingers of the operator guiding the meat past that point of the feed shaft which lies in the'region of the blade and whose fingers might therefore come into contact at this point with the shaft and with the projections if the spiral spring did not also shield the projections at these points. k r

An embodiment of theinvention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a cross-section on the line A--A of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a plan view;

Fig. 3 shows in small scale a side theentire device; V I

Fig. 4 is a front viewthereof;

elevation of Fig. 5 shows in large scale a section along lines B-B of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 shows in similar large scale a section along lines C-C of Fig. 3.

The meat-skinning machine provided by the invention comprises a feed shaft I supported at the form of a longtiudinal web. The portion of the frame forming the. bearing 2 is constructed as a coupling head intended for connection to meat-cutting machines of the usual kind and is accordingly providedwith the three conventional radial lugs 5 one ofwhich has a lon itudinal slot 6. The shaft I has, at the same end, a corre-' sponding recess 1. adapted tor'eceive the driving pinon-the shaft of aconventional meat-cutting machine. Thus, by connecting the coup'linghead to a meat-cutting machine and inserting the driving pin in the recess'l, the skinning machine can be fitted for use inthe driving position of a meat-cutting machine, the shaftbeing driven in the direction of the arrow 8 as soon as the motor of the meat-cutting machine is started.

The driving shaft I has projections 9 formed by a number of longitudinal ribs arranged at regular intervals over the entire peripheral surface of the shaft and subdivided by a helical groove [0 extending the entire length of the shaft. A helical spring II is mounted in the groove ill with a radial clearance with respect to the base thereof. The clearance and the dimensions of the spring are such that the spring takes up such a position when fully pressed into the groove at any desired position that the driving projections 9 project beyond the convolutions of the spring II at the said position but, at the diametrically opposite position, the convolutions of the spring II project to such an extent that perpendicular bearing sockets l2 and a pin,l3

is vertically displaceable in each socket i2. These pins l3 are mounted on a common knife blade [4 which has a cutting edge 15 extending along the shaft I. The sockets l2 therefore act as guides for the upward and downward movement of the blade [4. s

As will be seen from Figure 1, the blade is, provided, on the side facing the shaft, with a blunt edge l6 behind, and parallel to, the cutting edge I5, the blunt edge serving to prevent the cutting edge from cutting into the skin and to exert a scraping action. Adjoiningthe edge [6, the

blade has a hollowed portion H, the radius of ment.

that the cutting edge I5 and the edge I6 cannot come within reach of the projections 9.

According to Figs; 3 and 4, the coupling head is inserted into a machine support I9, which is provided, in a manner not shown, with an electric motor, by means of which the shaft I together with helical spring II may be continuously rotated. On theblade ld between both pins I3 there is provided a 'pin 20 in the form of a toothed rack, which extends in a socket 2I of of the helical spring, whereby the Spring presses the skin away from the projections. At the same time, in the region lying to the right of the shaft as viewed in Figure 1, the projections 9 are prethe frame 4, the teeth 22 of which are in engage.-

ment with the gear-segment 23 of a pinion 24.

The pinion 24 is rotatably mounted in 'a bearing in longitudinal frame 4 and has at, one end a,

central pin 25, which is inserted. ,throughi an aperture in frame 4 and terminates inl'a threaded pin on which a nut 26 is arranged. By this means the pinion 24 is secured against axialdis'plac'e with a hub 21, which protrudes from frame 4 and carries a one-arm lever;28. At the free end of thislever 28 a connecting rod 29 is connected, the rod 29 also beingconnected to the frame 4 by a spring 30 which is attached to the middle of the-rod. The lower end v,of the connecting rod .29 is linked to a pedal 3I,.which is rotatably mounted on a horizontalfaxle at the foot 32 of support I 9. I

vl gs is evident, the s ring 30 urges connecting 1 rod 29 upwardly and, therebytilts rocking lever 28 to its highest position. Therefore, blade I4 by virtue or pinion 23, 24. and rack 20, 22 is I placed in its furthestp'ositionfrom shaft I.

If the operator now depresses pedal 3I, he can place edge I6 of the blade closer toshaft I, and if he releases the pedal, he can move the'edge I6 away from the shaft.

7 In operation, the motor idriving the rotating shaft I is-started a'ndfthe meat isfed by the operator from the right-hand side of Figure l, the skin lying nearer the shaft, that is to say,

1 lowermost. The cutting edge I5 is brought to the required distance for separating the skin by operation of the pedal. The spring II is urged completely intothe helical groove II! by light pressure 'on the meat, so-that the driving projections, which then project beyond the spring, engage the meat andcarry it forward against the cutting edge I5. The ,cutting edge Ifithen removes the skin, which is bent inwardly tosuch an extent by the following blunt edge I6 that the skin cannot be damaged by thecutting edge I5. At the same time, the blunt edge I6 scrapes anyremaining fat from the skin. The skin then passes into the region between the hollowed portion I! and the shaft, and is constantly pressed against theshaft by the bearing pressure exerted on the blade. Consequently, the helicalspring I I takes up the position shown in Figure l, in which it ispressed completely into the groove l U, owing to. the radial bearing pressure of the skin, and thereforeenables the projections to engage the skin and to remain in engagement therewith. The skin then passes into the region of the longitudinal frame 4 the side of which nearer. the shaft I is inthe form of a segment of a hollow cylinder concentric with the axis of the shaft so as to 1 serve as a guidefor the skin. The skinthen leaves the machine below the frame 4 and moves a into the region substantially opposite the blade I4, the helical spring II projecting beyond the projections 9 in this region. Thus, in the travel of the skin from the region of the blades into the opposite region, the projections 9 gradually and successively recede behind the convolutions Vented from protruding during the operation due to the position of the spring I I, so that the fingers of the operator are well protected.

The driving projections. 9 need. not be in the form of knife edges as'illustrated inthe drawings,

but they may be pointed or completely blunt, that is to say, without any edge or point.

The pins I3 and socket I2 may be replaced by any other suitable parallel guiding means between the blade and the frame. It may be expedient in some casesto form, in one part, a dovetail-shaped groove inwhich a correspondingly shaped guide bar oh 'the-other part can engage.

The other end of pinion 24 is provided The'cutting edge I5 of the blade, extending along the feed shaft, need not be parallel to the axis of the feed shaft I as shownin the drawings, but can in some cases, as seen in horizontal section, project furthest at the centre and be inclined on either side thereof in relation to theaxis of the feed shaft. This inclined position, apart from the light inclined cut favourable to the cutting operation, also produces an appreciable automatic tensioning of the meat during treatment, as those parts of the meat which ,lie laterally of the central portion are pulled slightly j away from one another from the centre, so; that 'the'meat is tightlystretched, I I

What we claim is:

' a .1. A. meat-skinning machine comprising a frame; a feed shaft rotatably "mounted in the frame, the surface of said feed shaft having projections adapted to carryalong the skin and also being formed with helical grooves; a blade/movably mounted in said frame and havinga cutting edge extending along said shaft; a helical spring arranged in said groove, said spring having such radial clearance in said groove'that, when completely pressed in said groove by pressure of the skin in the region of said blade, said projections extend beyond said spring to engage the skin while, in the region remote from said blade, said spring projects beyond the projections sufficient extent to detach the skin from said projectionsi 2. A meat-skinning machine according .to

claim 1,-in which said projections consist of longitudinal ribs which project fromthe surface of the said shaft and subdivided bysaid groove.

3. A meat-skinning machine according to claim 1, in which said blade is provided on the side nearer the shaftwith a blunt edge parallel to and behind said cutting edge, said blunt edge being adapted to prevent said cutting edge from cutting into the skin, and to exert a scraping ac-' tion.

4. A meat-skinning machine comprising a' frame; a feed shaft rotatably and drivably mounted in said frame, the surface of said feed shaft being provided with projections for carjections project beyond it toengage the skin,

and, conversely, it projects beyond the projections in the region remote from said blade to an extent sufiicient to detach the skin from said projections.

5. A meat-skinning machine according to claim 4, comprising a pedal rotatably mounted on the frame for operation to adjust the position of said blade.

6. A meat-skinning machine according to claim 4, comprising an adjusting means provided with a return spring tending to urge said blade into its position furthest from said feed shaft. 7. A meat-skinning machine comprising a frame; two bearings connected by a web-like part i of the said frame, a rotatable feed shaft mounted in said bearings and disposed parallel to said' web-like part, the surface of said feed shaft being provided with projections adapted to carry along the skin and being formed with a helical groove; a blade having a cutting edge extending along said feed shaft; guides in said frame in which guides said blade is movable with respect to said feed shaft; a spiral spring arranged in said groove, said spiral spring having such radial clearance with respect to said groove that, when fully pressed into said groove in the region of the blade under the radial bearing pressure of the skin, said projections project beyond it to enable them to engage the skin while it projects beyond said projections in the region remote from the blade to an extent suflicient to detach the skin from the said projections.

8. A meat-skinning machine according to claim 7, in which said guides are mounted in said web-like part of the frame. 7

9. A meat-skinning machine comprising a bearings parallel to said web-like portion, the periphery of said shaft being formed with projections adapted to advance the meat and with a helical groove; guide sockets mounted in said web-like part at right-angles to the axis of said shaft; a pin slidable in each of said guide sockets; a blade mounted on said pins and having a cutting edge extending along said feed shaft; a helical spring arranged in said groove, said helical spring having such radial clearance with respect to the said groove that, when it is pressed fully into said groove in the region of the blade under radial bearing pressure of the skin, said projections project beyond it to enable them to engage the skin, while it projects beyond the driving projections in the region remote from the blade to an extent sufiicient todetach the skin from said projections.

10. A meat-skinning machine according to claim 9, in which at least one of said pins is constructed as a toothed rack and a toothed pinion meshes therewith and is arranged to extend into the corresponding guide socket, a rocking lever of an operating linkage engaging with said pin- 1011.

WALTHER STE'I'ILER. CHARLES HUMMEL.

References Cited in the file of this patent 4 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 639,371 Snyder et a1. Dec. 26, 1899 1,964,090 Spang June 26, 1934 2,522,728

Townsend Sept. 19, 1950 

